Forestry Alliance NSW's Justin Field sent the below letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns in November 2025 to request an independent review of Forestry Corporation's sustainable yield assessments.
Dear Premier,
I am writing to draw your attention to Forestry Corporation of NSW’s (FCNSW) 2024/25 Biomaterial Report, which details the volume and category of timber taken from native state forests.
The report shows that actual harvest yields for north-east NSW have not recovered since the 2019/20 wildfires, instead further declining by 29% from 2023/24 to 2024/25. The actual yields stand in stark contrast to FCNSW’s “sustainable yield” assessments - the assessment on which Wood Supply Agreements (WSAs) have been based. Specifically for the north east NSW region, over the past three years FCNSW has been unable to deliver 59% of the timber it claims to be available under its “sustainable yield” assessments, and has not been able to supply the volumes committed in WSAs.
This data trend stands in contrast to FCNSW’s repeated claims that harvest yields will return to a pre-2020 bushfires baseline.
The declining actual yields, which are well below FCNSW’s claims of available supply and contracted levels, show that FCNSW’s “sustainable yield” assessments cannot be relied upon for credible policy making. The figures appear to have been either significantly over-estimated, deliberately inflated, or based on modelling that fails to properly account for the impacts of fires and ecological recovery. There is also a risk that FCNSW has maintained inflated yield figures to support future claims for compensation, justify higher wood supply agreements, or to argue against further reductions following the establishment of the Great Koala National Park. The use of these inaccurate “sustainable yield” assumptions in GKNP
implementation could lead to increased logging intensity in remaining forests, directly contradicting the commitments made under the GKNP announcement to reduce logging intensity.
It is critical that an accurate baseline is established as the implications of the Great Koala National Park are identified. Over the past three years, on average, 35% of all products from the North East NSW forestry region were sourced from within the boundaries of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP). That timber is now no longer available.
If FCNSW’s inflated claims of future yields are applied as the Government’s baseline, this would have serious implications for a range of policy and financial decisions. Inaccurate yield assumptions would distort carbon value analyses and influence future industry compensation or contract considerations. This could expose the NSW government to significant financial liabilities, undermine the integrity of the FIAP process, and create long term costs for taxpayers.
The Forest Alliance NSW is requesting the NSW Government commission an independent assessment of FCNSW’s yield estimates. This assessment should be an open and transparent process conducted by a suitably qualified expert to inform the FIAP process. Given the ongoing issues with FCNSW data, any expert previously engaged by FCNSW should not be involved in this assessment process.
We also request to have input into terms of reference for an independent assessment.
The Forest Alliance is seeking an urgent meeting with you and key ministers to discuss this proposal. We are of the view that this should be conducted within the next few months to be able to inform the FIAP and GKNP implementation processes. If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact Justin Field on 0439 205 835 or at j[email protected]
Kind regards,
Justin Field
On behalf of the Forest Alliance NSW, which includes:
- The Nature Conservation Council of NSW
- WWF-Australia
- Wilderness Australia
- North East Forest Alliance
- Brooman State Forest Conservation Group
- The Wilderness Society
- National Parks Association of NSW
- South East Forest Rescue
- Bob Brown Foundation